If information is confirmed, the total could reach 66 – the highest fatality rate in the history of operations in Rio de Janeiro
A final balance of – carried out by the Civil and Military Police (PM) of the on Tuesday night (28) in the Alemão and Penha complexes against organized crime – indicates the arrest of 81 criminals, including one of the leaders known as ‘Belão’, and the seizure of 93 rifles, as well as pistols, grenades and more than 500 kilos of drugs. At night, a kombi arrived at the Getúlio Vargas Hospital, in Penha, bringing six bodies of residents of the community, located in a forested area in Alemão. These bodies have not yet been counted as dead in the operation.
If it is confirmed that these deaths were caused during the confrontation with the Rio police, the death toll reaches 66 in the operation – the highest fatality in the history of operations in Rio de Janeiro. As it is close to the Penha and Alemão complexes, the Getúlio Vargas Hospital received all the dead and injured. Also at night, residents started a protest at the hospital entrance, reporting that other bodies were left in the forested area. The police then reinforced police at the main entrance to the hospital to ensure order.
Effective results
During the release of the report on the operation, the Secretary of Public Security, Victor dos Santos, defended police action. “We are talking about a region with around 9 million square meters, which corresponds to two neighborhoods in Copacabana, where more than 200 thousand people live. This action was the result of intelligence and careful planning to guarantee effective results.”
According to the secretary, the fact that there are so many outbreaks of confrontation shows the accuracy of the intelligence information that was collected. “The more intelligence, the more resistance and chance of confrontation. The organized attacks by the criminal faction show a cowardly and desperate attempt to take the focus away from the police. Our teams acted strategically to capture or neutralize narco-terrorists who take away the freedom and tranquility of the population”, he stated.
The Secretary of the Military Police, Colonel Marcelo de Menezes, highlighted the overt presence of the corporation and the large quantity of rifles seized. “We employed maximum force in this operation and the high firepower of the criminals confirms the difficulty our troops have in advancing in these areas with intense clashes. In this operation alone, almost 100 rifles were removed from circulation. These weapons of war are used against the police and also against the population”, explained the colonel.
The Penitentiary Administration Secretariat reinforced its inspection of prisons with leaders from Comando Vermelho and seized cell phones and drugs. The secretariat also monitors 30 prisoners who violated the electronic ankle bracelet system in the region of the operation. The Criminal Execution Court will issue arrest warrants for everyone.
Ten vacancies
After receiving an Intelligence report from the Civil Police, in partnership with the Penitentiary Administration Secretariat, the governor requested the federal government ten vacancies for the immediate transfer of criminal leaders to maximum security federal prisons. “We are tackling crime rigorously, within the law, and whoever continues to command criminal actions from within the prisons will be isolated and held accountable. Rio de Janeiro will not tolerate connivance or complacency with crime”, stated the governor.
and aimed to serve arrest warrants and contain the territorial expansion of the criminal faction Comando Vermelho. During the action, there was intense shooting and four police officers were killed, two civilians and two soldiers from BOPE, the elite police force.
According to the government of Rio de Janeiro, the operation is the result of more than a year of investigation by the Narcotics Repression Police Station (DRE), in the Alemão and Penha complexes, which bring together 26 communities. Several clashes were recorded throughout the day, mainly in the forested area, and 60 criminals who responded to police action died.
